Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will be very brief, because most of what I was going to say was said while I was Acting Chair. Our agenda is the impact of peat shortages on the horticultural industry. For the purpose of conversation, let us forget about extraction for a minute. Senator Hackett is the Minister of State with responsibility for horticulture, and today's brief is about the impact of peat shortages on the horticultural industry. We had a major crisis in the mushroom industry and we lost several mushroom producers on the back of Brexit. Due to those shenanigans, they are now suffering across the water because of the value of sterling again. Those who have survived say the straw that will break the camel's back is the additional costs that we are imposing on them through the sourcing of peat, which is coming from eastern Europe on diesel-guzzling tankers, being offloaded at Irish ports and transported, thereafter, by more diesel-guzzling lorries. It is a total contradiction of our environmental outlook and the possibly good intentions of the serial objectors to us extracting our own peat. It has a much higher carbon footprint when it gets to them now than if we were extracting from our bogs. That is a contradiction by the Government, by the Green Party - without getting political about it - and by the people who are to blame, who have been objecting and who have caused all this hassle. The proposal on legislation for single consent has been put to the Minister of State on several occasions. That would get the bogs under 30 ha back in action, but it needs somebody to drive it on.

I respect the fact the Minister of State has come to the Chamber today because many of her colleagues have refused the invitation. It affects not only the mushroom industry. There are many other people struggling in the horticultural industry who are dependent on natural resources. One of the few natural resources they have is peat as a growing medium. They need heat and are under pressure because of electricity costs and other things. The one problem we can solve here and now, that is not being caused by Mr. Putin or a war, is by allowing them access to peat.

The Minister of State has quite rightly said it needs a collaborative approach. As the Minister with responsibility for horticulture, an industry that is going to go under and is losing and suffering the most, she should be driving that collaboration. She should be insisting and demanding her colleagues assist her in introducing that legislation. It should happen sooner rather than later. There is a very narrow window for peat harvesting. We are in the middle of November. The harvesting season begins in March and depends on what sort of a summer we get. If nothing is done before March, April or May, we will miss another season. We will be back here next winter discussing this again. Peat is not harvested from September to March or April. It is narrow window even if we had a solution. The Minister of State needs to be banging on her colleagues' doors. She needs to drive this because it is her industry. The industry she is ultimately responsible for is losing out on her and, indeed, our watch.